When a shoulder firearm is fired a recoil force pushes the gun towards the shoulder of the person, such as a trap shooter, firing the gun. When the trap shooter rests his or her cheek on the stock of the gun in order to aim the gun, the recoil force also causes the gun to move against the trap shooter's cheek when the gun is fired. In trap shooting competitions, the firearm will be fired many times in rapid succession. The recoil force will often cause bruising to the cheek and shoulder of the trap shooter.
Prior art recoil mechanisms have been devised to reduce the recoil force felt by the shoulder of the trap shooter as well as to alleviate the problem caused by motion of the gun against the cheek of the trap shooter. For example, in U. U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,348, granted Jul. 16, 1991 to Donald C. Carey, a gun stock assembly with coordinated comb and recoil is disclosed. The Carey patent discloses a comb piece coordinated with the shoulder piece and associated recoil assembly. The comb piece and shoulder piece remain stationary relative to each other during shooting while the recoil assembly absorbs the recoil. The comb piece provides a stationary cheek rest which is said to eliminate the cheek-chaffing action usually associated with the use of shoulder firms.
A similar device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,446 granted Jan. 30, 1990, naming Glenn D. Gregory as inventor. The Gregory patent discloses an adjustable comb and butt plate assembly for shoulder firearms having a stock and a recoil reducing or absorbing means at the butt end of the stock. A butt plate is slidably mounted at the rear of the stock. A comb is slidably mounted on the stock. The comb and butt plate remain stationary relative to the shooter's head and body when the firearm is fired.
In addition, the Gregory and Carey patents disclose a butt plate or shoulder piece which is adjustable relative to the stock of the gun, as is the comb. Such adjustments may be made by moving the comb or butt plate on pins which extend outward from the stock of the gun.
The devices disclosed in the Carey and Gregory patents seek to avoid having a recoil force transmitted to the cheek of the trap shooter when the gun is fired by permitting the comb of the gun to slide relative to the stock of the gun. This does not prevent a force in a upward direction on the recoil of the gun causing the comb of the gun to hit the cheek of the shooter. In guns with a fixed comb, the transmission of such a force can cause bruising to the cheek of the shooter, especially upon repeated firings of the gun such are as necessary in trap shooting competitions and the like. Furthermore, a gun recoil will also produce forces which are lateral to the longitudinal axis of the gun. Such forces are not reduced by a shoulder piece which moves only parallel to the longitudinal axis of the gun. In addition, the adjustment of the comb and butt plate or shoulder piece described by the Gregory and Carey patents is limited.
Thus a recoil mechanism incorporating a comb and shoulder piece assembly which reduces the recoil force of a shoulder firearm as applied to the cheek of the trap shooter, which permits the shoulder piece to have some rotational movement when the gun recoils, and has a variably adjustable comb and shoulder piece, is desirable.